Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote teaching as a career path for young people and current teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Since July 2024, this government has taken targeted action to boost teacher supply. This work started with our reset of the relationship with the sector, to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession, making it one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to, and new graduates wish to join. We have published our delivery plan for 6,500 new expert teachers, focusing delivery across three key themes:
We are offering recruitment incentives in the subjects where they are needed most, with significant investment in tax-free teacher training bursaries and scholarships of up to £31,000 for school and college teachers.
We have recognised the importance of teachers with a pay rise for school teachers and leaders of nearly 10% since this government took power.
Our approach is already starting to pay-off, with the secondary and special school workforce growing by 2,346 teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to paying national non-domestic rates on behalf of early years education settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The small business rate relief scheme provides up to 100% relief for eligible businesses occupying one property with a rateable value of £12,000 or below and reduces bills up to £15,000. Furthermore, if a nursery is a charity, charitable rate relief provides 80% off rates bills, which can be topped up to 100% by the local authority.
The government funds local authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years national funding formula for the three and four-year-old entitlement and a separate formula for the two-year-old and below entitlement. The hourly funding rate paid to local authorities for these entitlements is designed to recognise the average costs across different provider types and is intended to reflect staff and non-staff costs, including business rates. The national average three and four-year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%.
There are no current plans to extend the centralised payment system to private, voluntary, or independent early years settings or to make these settings exempt.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of clinical trials running in the UK for people with brain cancer; and whether he has any specific targets on this to reduce the number of patients who travel overseas for treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancers.
The Department is supporting the delivery of brain cancer clinical trials through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) that funds research and research infrastructure to support patients and the public to participate in high-quality research. In January 2026, the NIHR announced total investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments across the UK. The consortium will develop and enhance innovative clinical trials.
There are no specific targets around increasing the number of brain cancer clinical trials, although the Life Sciences Sector Plan aims to double all commercial interventional trial participants in the UK by 2026, and double again by 2029.
As set out in our National Cancer Plan, the Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act, making it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the pace at which the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium is developing; and when the organisations that constitute the research consortium will have access to the funds.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.
We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.
In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the announcement on the19 December 2025 on the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, when the additional announcements will be made on further funding into brain tumour treatment trials beyond the £13.7 million initial investment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.
We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.
In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, over what period he expects the £13.7 million initial funding in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium to be disbursed.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.
We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.
In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of ADHD services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.
This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people and their families including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate levels of staffing for ADHD services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.
This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people and their families including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of business rates on early years education settings.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including early years education settings. At the Budget, the Government announced a £4.3 billion support package to support ratepayers across all sectors seeing bill increases. As a result of the Budget package, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, in 2026-27, DfE expect to provide over £9.5 billion for childcare entitlements for children aged from 9 months to 4 years. This is over £1 billion more compared to 2025-26, as it delivers a full year of the expanded 30 hours entitlements for working parents and an above inflation increase to funding rates.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to take steps to lower business rates on early years education settings.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including early years education settings. At the Budget, the Government announced a £4.3 billion support package to support ratepayers across all sectors seeing bill increases. As a result of the Budget package, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, in 2026-27, DfE expect to provide over £9.5 billion for childcare entitlements for children aged from 9 months to 4 years. This is over £1 billion more compared to 2025-26, as it delivers a full year of the expanded 30 hours entitlements for working parents and an above inflation increase to funding rates.